In this episode, I have the great pleasure of speaking to Poet and Biographer Molly Peacock on the different states of widowhood, alongside themes of sickness and disease, nursing and caregiving, and loss expressed honestly, candidly, playfully, and colorfully in her poetry book The Widow’s Crayon Box. We discuss thinking outside of the (crayon) box and looking beyond traditional forms of grief and grieving by adding a celebration of life with an enhanced and enriched experience of life after loss and how it is possible to hold and experience two different emotions like joy and grief at the same time. But Molly also explains openly and candidly the various states and mixed emotions and ups and downs of providing care to a loved one requiring a wide array of colors from the crayon box. Moreover, Molly reads three of her poems from The Widow’s Crayon Box - “Touched”, “Sex after Seventy”, and “Honey Crisp” - followed by a brief discussion on them including that it is never too late to have and enjoy sex alongside the many pleasures of life. We also discuss some of her other work and projects, which include biographies, a memoir, a one-woman-show as well as her inspiring “Secret Poetry Room” Project.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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